Darkest Before Dawn
by SiriusAllPunked
Summary: When a terrorist organization plots to use Gotham as the base for nuclear holocaust, a rookie beat-cop and the Police Commissioner's daughter team up with the masked vigilante known as "the Batman." J.Blake/B.Gordon Bane/OC
1. Chapter 1

** This is my first attempt at writing a Batman storyline. Basically, pretend TDKR never happened, although, there will be spoilers if you have yet to see it. I took a little artistic license with Barbara's character, although I tried my best to base her off how she's been portrayed in movies, shows and the comics. It does involve Bane, but not in the way he was used in the TDKR. **

** The only character I own is Hanna von Krieg. Everything else belongs to DC and Christopher Nolan.  
**

* * *

_Berlin, Germany._

The sound of gravel crushing beneath boots echoed through the vast empty alleyway as a figure in a thick fur hooded coat made their way into a large building. It looked worn down and abandoned to the naked eye, but as the figure approached, a small part of the door slid open and an eye appeared, followed by a muffled whisper.

The figure snapped back something in response in German, and after a brief moment, the heavy iron door slid open, revealing a large empty floor with only a man dressed head to toe in black, completed with a black beanie.

"He has been waiting for you, _dumme Schlampe._"

The figure tilted their head to one side and pulled off their _ushanka, _revealing long pale blond hair. The girl smirked devilishly at the guard.

"Now, no need for language." she cooed wickedly. Her eyes took in the emptiness with curious interest. The man muttered something in German that made her chuckle, and she fixed him with a gleeful leer.

"As entertaining as this is, Austerlitz is not a patient man. Take me to the doctor."

The guard stiffened at the German name and told her to follow him as he quickly led her to a metal gate at the end of the room. He slid it open. It was a small elevator.

Neither spoke as the elevator creaked and moaned, dropping down floor after floor. The building hadn't been used in years; once an old factory that was left to ruins during the second World War. But beneath the ground revealed a colossal laboratory. In the middle of several tables was a tiny man in a white lab coat with graying hair and thin, round glasses.

When the elevator doors slid open, the woman strutted out, but the man stayed in, quickly shutting the doors and returning upstairs.

The woman glanced behind her and then smirked, looking back forward.

"You have done quite a nice job with the place, Doctor Azarov. He must be pleased."

The doctor looked up at her and gave her a tired smile. "Miss von Krieg, welcome."

Hanna von Krieg walked out to join the doctor in the middle of his lab. Surrounding him, several others in similar lab coats worked quickly and diligently on their projects, ignoring the exchange going on.

"I doubt I need to tell you why I am here." she said, placing her hat on the table behind the doctor. He nodded gravely and motioned toward the conglomerate of tubes and bottles of chemicals on the table.

"This is the project," his English was phenomenal, though his Russian brogue was thick. Hanna eyed a spread of papers with details about the project the doctor had been working on. She grasped one off the desk and read through the information quickly.

"And does it work?" she whispered excitedly.

The doctor paused for a moment, contemplating his words. He'd been working with the organization long enough to know who he was talking to. Words would have to be chosen careful around people like Hanna von Krieg.

"It is not completely finished, but the results so far have been satisfactory."

"How long till it can be used?" Hanna asked, glancing up at the doctor. He smiled.

"Two, perhaps three weeks. It is most pertinent that we get the chemical balance right."

Hanna nodded understandingly and fixed the doctor with a smile of her own. "You've done quite well, Doctor. I will give my reports to Austerlitz that I am pleased."

Hearing this, the doctor seemed to visibly relax. He let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

"My sincerest gratefulness, Fraulein von Krieg."

Hanna's smile widened. "But, of course, doctor."

* * *

_Gotham City, USA_

John Blake woke up in a cold sweat.

He'd had the dream again; the one where his father looked up at him, his eyes cold and empty, filling him only one question: _why_? Why had it been him? Why had his mother been taken from him? Why was there so much injustice in the world?

It had been the main reason he'd chosen to become a cop. Even as a child, he'd understood that the world was an ugly, unfair place, littered with crime and malfeasance. His mother had been killed because a man broke the law and got behind the wheel drunk. His father had been shot by some thugs due to a gambling debt – another breach of the law.

Gotham was a city full of crime. He wanted to make things right, fix things in Gotham. And when the Batman had appeared, he knew that it was his calling. He was meant to save Gotham from its downward spiral into darkness, however he could.

He pulled himself out of bed and decided that a shower was exactly what he needed. As the water cascaded down his back he closed his eyes and tried to relax. He'd achieved his dreams. He was a proud member of the Gotham City Police Department now. Just like Bruce Wayne, he, the lowly orphan, was now one of Gotham's finest. He was making a change.

He quickly washed his face, hair and body before the water could turn cold. As glorious as it was to be one of Gotham's defenders, he was till a rookie beat cop, and cops in Gotham just didn't get paid that great. He made just enough for his small, simple one bedroom apartment, a used car that was at least ten years old, with just enough left over for frozen dinners and Ramen noodles.

John changed into his uniform, admiring the way it made him look..._tougher_, more _dangerous_. He'd never been that big of a guy, and even when he was in the Academy, he wasn't ever at the top of his class. He wasn't that good of a marksman, and he wasn't that fast. But, he'd always been quick on his feet, and sharper than most of his peers. He could deduce more than even the highest placed students could. And he had more determination than most.

Nodding once at his reflection, he left his room, grabbed his keys and headed down the stairs to his car.

* * *

Gotham was one of those cities that never slept.

Barbara Gordon remembered that from when she was a child. She used to look out her window, see how the lights of the city lit up the sky, and pretend that she was part of it all.

As she got older, she started understanding it more. She realized that Gotham wasn't nearly as light and happy as she'd imagined. Crime in Gotham was nothing new; there was always something sinister about. It was really a dark place, littered with crime and chaos. It wasn't something she could easily ignore, not as a police officer's daughter, and as she stared up at the bright lights blinking about the city for the first time in almost three years, she was eerily reminded of being a child.

Being back in Gotham was strange. She'd spent the past three years in Massachusetts, working on a degree in Criminal Forensics at Clark University, and had returned upon hearing about her parents' separation.

She was still angry with her mother. How could she pack her bags and leave her father alone in the big city? And to drag her little brother along. Barbara knew all the pains that came with having a cop in the family. She, too, spent countless nights tossing and turning when he wouldn't come home till early in the morning, wondering if something had happened to him. She understood her mother's heartache, how angry and tired she must have been after that madman had kidnapped her mother and brother to bait her father. But she couldn't see justification in her actions. Her father was a hero, and it seemed like no one ever appreciated him for that.

Strange as it was, she was happy to be back. Her father hadn't wanted her to come, but she'd assured him that she could easily finish her education at Gotham University, and she was already offered a job working on computers at the Wayne Technical Research Center in the city.

Glancing down at her watch, she realized that it was almost time to leave for her first day of classes. Her family's modest little home was nearly across the city, and if she wanted to beat traffic, she'd need to leave immediately.

As she went to drop her empty mug of coffee in the sink, her father strolled in, fixing the collar of his dress shirt.

"I've got to run, but there's some coffee in the pot if you want some." Barbara said, motioning toward the coffee pot. She knew her father could never turn down a cup in the morning, just like she knew he couldn't turn down a beer in the evening. The two had always got along swimmingly. She'd always been a daddy's girl, and the two easily fell into place when she moved back in.

"I'll definitely need it. Today they're making the arrangements for Harvey Dent day. There's a board meeting for all the city's officials and for some reason they need me there." Her father grumbled, walking over to the cabinet to pull out his favorite black and yellow mug.

Barbara grimaced. Harvey Dent had always been a sore spot for her father, and she didn't blame him. She didn't much like the guy either, knowing what so few of other Gotham citizens knew. He'd been there, the night her mother and brother had been kidnapped. And everyone thought he'd tried to help them.

Unease pooled in her stomach as she remembered that night eight years ago. She had been fifteen, away at a slumber party at the time. She often imagined that _she_ had been the one home that night. Would her feelings about her mother's departure be different?

"Comes with the territory of being the Commissioner, I suppose. You've got to kiss a lot of ass."

Her father rolled his eyes sardonically, but cracked a smile. "Its pure politics."

Barbara grinned back at him and leaned over to give him a kiss on the cheek. As she pulled her coat over her shoulders, she told him to behave and not to work too hard at pleasing the big, bad businessmen, and strode out the door.

"Dammit," Barbara cursed as she slammed on her breaks for the third time. Gotham had always been a busy place, but she hadn't remembered there being so much traffic at eight in the morning. She'd have to figure out a back route or something, or else commuting to and from school would be a major pain.

A bus pulled out further down the road, and another car had to slam on their breaks to avoid hitting it. _What is with this city?,_ she wondered exasperatedly. No one seemed to be paying attention to where they were going, everyone was absorbed in their own little worlds.

_"That's Gotham for you."_ she grumbled as the light finally turned green. Glancing down at her car's clock, she cursed when she realized she was going to be late. Barbara Gordon was a very punctual person. She'd never slept through and alarm clock, and she'd never been tardy from a class, even when she was away at school. She was the type of kid who showed up to class early, who was awarded _employee of the month_ for her great punctuality and behavior at work. Being late was like failure – it wasn't an option. That was the Gordon way.

Thoroughly annoyed at the slugging traffic, Barbara pressed down on her gas, until her car was speeding down a less busy road. She was easily breaking the speed limit, probably a few other laws, so she was more annoyed than surprised when a flash of blue and red lit up behind her.

Pulling over, she mentally berated herself for being silly enough to speed just to make it to class. Now, not only was she going to be late, but she was going to have a ticket, as well.

_Way to go, Commissioner's daughter_.

As the officer slammed his door shut and sauntered over to her car, Barbara reached over to her glove compartment to pull out her registration, and grabbed her wallet from her purse.

She rolled down the window just as the officer approached.

"Good morning, officer." She said with the politeness and respect that one expected from a cop's daughter.

The officer was a grim faced man with a port belly and graying hair. He fixed Barbara with a commanding look, the type of expression cops wore in movies and television shows, a look that meant business.

"Good morning, ma'am. Did you realize that you were going twenty miles over the speed limit?" He asked gruffly, puffing up like a cheesy interpretation of a 'bad cop' on _Law & Order_. His eyes glanced over to the side, and that was when she noticed the other officer standing a few feet behind him.

"No, sir." she half-lied. She hadn't exactly been looking down at her speedometer.

The cop wrinkled his nose disgruntled, and shook his head. "We take speeding seriously here in Gotham, young lady."

Barbara refrained from rolling her eyes, and noticed that the cop behind –_ Officer Sanderson – _was trying to do the same.

"Yes, sir. Its my first time back in the city. I'll try to mind my speed." She kept her tone polite, but saw a small smile appear on the younger officer's face.

Officer Sanderson eyed her wearily before asking for her license and registration. He grabbed them from her in a grubby hand and marched back to his vehicle, not before stopping to mutter something to the other officer.

Once he was gone, the younger cop stepped forward. He gave her a warm, friendly smile.

"You'll have to excuse him. He hasn't exactly mastered his _bad cop_ routine."

Barbara shuddered. "He's not exactly a morning person, is he?" She glanced in her rear-view mirror. "He's not gonna find anything. I don't have any warrants out for my arrest."

The officer laughed heartily, and Barbara noticed how his eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled. His name tag read _Blake_, and she'd been around the GCPD long enough to know that the little silver star with the broad points meant he was a regular patrolman.

"Are you new into town?" He asked.

"No, but its the first time I've been back in three years. I was a student at Clark University. I transferred here to be closer to my dad." She said by ways of explanation. He nodded and glanced back at Officer Sanderson, who was already getting out of his car and stalking back toward them.

This time, his expression was less foreboding, a touch friendlier.

"Sorry about that, Miss Gordon. We're obligated to stop anyone going over the speed limit. You understand."

Officer Blake's eyes widened a fraction as he looked back to her.

She had grown accustomed to that kind of reaction when people found out her father was Commissioner Gordon. Kids at school knew her as 'the daughter of that Police Commissioner, from the dangerous city'. She'd learned to shrug it off. But, suddenly, she felt very out of place.

"It's-it's fine," she responded. "I'm glad to know that GCPD is doing their job. I'm a cop's daughter, I should have known better."

Officer Blake flashed another smile. Sanderson looked proud.

"Of course, ma'am." He tipped his hat and sent Barbara on her way. She waved at the younger cop who smiled back, and rolled up her window, sighing in relief.

Today was _not_ her day.

* * *

** Well, there. The first chapter. I hope that everyone likes it as much as I do so far. It picks up, I promise. We'll get to see what we only got a snippet of in TDKR. Sort of what we got in Batman & Robin (with Chris O'Donnel.) When writing this, I had an image of Emma Stone as Barbara Gordon. I know a lot of people see her in that role as well (despite her being in Spiderman.) Anyway, reviews would be most appreciated. **


	2. Change in the Ranks

**Here is the second chapter to my story! Since this story was originally made for one of my best friends who is a very big fan of Bane, you'll notice a lot of Bane and Hanna. Also, I apologize if anything in this story doesn't fit some information in TDKR. I tried to get as much of the information right.  
**

**I was so excited to see all the favorites and follows! I hope everyone continues to enjoy!  
**

**I do not own anything involving TDKR, the only character I own is Hanna von Krieg. =)  
**

* * *

_Gotham, USA_

"Dad? Are you home?"

Barbara was met with darkness and silence as she let herself into her family's two story city home. Her father must have been having another late night, probably caught up with more Harvey Dent day drama.

She flipped the switch by the kitchen and dropped her bag off on one of the chairs. Her first week of classes had gone by great. She'd gotten a good vibe from all of her professors, and the course material seemed fairly simple in comparison to the workload at Clark.

After classes, she'd gone for coffee at a local place she'd gone to a lot in high school, and then went down town to the Wayne Research Center for her first day of work. Already, Barbara was quite pleased with the place. Her boss was an older man who smiled a lot and complimented her on her vast knowledge and disposition, despite her young age. She'd grinned at that. Her co-workers were a motley crew of IT geeks and girls who wore pinstripe skirts, who snorted when they laughed and were addicted to the coffee in the break room. She knew she'd get along there just fine.

After stripping off her white dress shirt and kicking off her heels, she traded her dress pants for a pair of yoga pants, a tank top and a gray Clark U Cougars hoodie, and went down to the kitchen to make her dad some dinner. It was something her mother used to do. She'd always have a special container of dinner left for her dad, no matter what time he came home.

The silence was deafening, so she flipped on the television to the news while she pulled out a package of ground beef, noodles and a can of meat sauce to make her father's favorite: spaghetti with meat sauce. A woman's voice filled the room as Barbara browned the meat and stirred salt into a pot of water.

"_Gotham is getting ready for Harvey Dent day, tomorrow. Earlier today, a meeting with city officials met to discuss the program for the City's annual parade. Gotham City News anchor, Richard Wright spoke to Police Commissioner, James Gordon, on what the people of Gotham should expect."_

Barbara turned to stare at the woman on the screen curiously. Her father's face filled the screen. She laughed. He maintained his usual professional facade, but Barbara could see tell that look of annoyance anywhere. Between her and her little brother, she'd seen that look enough as a child.

A handsome dark haired man began rambling off questions to him, and her father responded curtly, although his voice got tight in some places. She shook her head and sprinkled pepper into the meat. Just as she began to pour the can of sauce into the mixture, a heavy knock sounded at the door.

She jumped in surprise. Her eyes grazed over the stove clock. _Ten forty seven_. Who could be here that late?

Barbara turned down the heat of the stove and walked toward the door, but not before grabbing the hand gun her father usually kept hidden underneath the hallway bench.

Glancing through the tiny peep hole in the door, she recognized the familiar short brown hair and heavy police jacket. She gasped and threw the door open.

"Officer Blake! My father-" Her heart thumped in her chest wildly. Having a cop show up at your door was never a good sign, especially for the spouse or family of a cop. Could her dad have been shot? Had that lunatic broke out of prison to seek vengeance? Her mind raced at a million miles a minute before the officer raised a hand to calm her.

"He's at Gotham General. He's been shot, but he's stable."

"_Shot_?!" Her voice broke. Suddenly, Barbara felt very dizzy and she had to lean against the door frame for support.

The cop took a step forward.

"He's alright, Miss Gordon. It was a wound to the leg. The doctor just wants to keep him for a few nights to keep an eye on him. He wanted me to come here personally to make sure you knew. He said you'd rather hear it in person, than over the phone."

Although her eyes filled with tears, she choked a laugh. Her father knew her so well. Barbara closed her eyes and tried to gather herself. She was a sensible, intelligent young woman. Her father was fine. He was a cop. It wasn't his first injury on the job, and it probably wouldn't be the last. Her father was a strong, resilient man. She was panicking over nothing.

Officer Blake stared at her, eyebrows gathered in worry.

"I'm sorry." she laughed, wiping her eyes.

The officer shook his head. "Don't be. Its a usual reaction to hearing your father got shot."

Barbara nodded and then looked around, as if the small entry way served as some kind of answer.

"Yeah. Um, can I go see him?" She asked.

Blake nodded and jutted his thumb over his shoulder. "I figured I could give you a ride."

Nodding again, she reached for her shoes under the bench, forgetting she had the gun in her hand. Instinctively, the officer stepped back, his hands raised.

"Oh. Oh, _shit._" Barbara hurriedly put the gun away in its safe spot. She blushed deeply and gave the cop an apologetic smile. "Dad keeps it there in case someone tries to bust in through the door when we answer it. People don't usually show up here this late."

Blake sighed in relief and gave her a warm smile. "Its alright." he laughed nervously. "Just a cop reaction."

"We're doing a lot of dramatic reacting tonight, aren't we?" Barbara joked. "Um, come on in. I was cooking, so just give me a minute to take everything off the stove."

Blake nodded and followed her into the tight entry way, wiping his feet off on the welcome mat. He suddenly felt very awkward, standing in his boss' kitchen, while his boss' daughter worked quickly at shutting off the stove and covering the half-cooked meat.

"I'll just have to finish it later." She muttered, more to herself than to Blake. But Blake nodded anyway, taking in the kitchen. It was a modest little place, but somehow it seemed like exactly the kind of place James Gordon would live in. It was clean, unlike Blake's own place, and plain, with a touch of femininity that showed that a woman had lived there.

"My mom insisted that the place have some color." Barbara said by ways of explanation. "And, if it seems impossibly clean for a man's place, I'll let you in on a little secret. The Commissioner is just as messy as your average Joe. I wind up doing most of the cleaning." She joked, dumping out the pot of salt water.

Blake grinned. "Well, now I don't feel as bad. My place is a pig stye, and I'm barely ever there."

Barbara wiped her hands on a dish towel and fixed Blake with a playful smile. "You're a rookie cop. Get used to it."

Blake rolled his eyes good naturedly. "Come on, let's get you to Gotham General."

* * *

Gotham General had been rebuilt shortly after the actions of the psychopath that called himself the Joker. It now stood grander than ever, with a large memorial in front dedicated "Harvey Dent: the hero who brought justice to Gotham."

John Blake rolled his eyes. The Mayor was really laying this Harvey Dent fiasco on thick. Every chance he could, he mentioned the man, probably because he knew it'd help him with his election. Everyone in Gotham seemed to soak it up. The people _believed in Harvey Dent_.

Personally, Blake felt unsure about the man. While everyone else had jumped all over the story, John couldn't help but find the whole thing rather suspicious. There were just too many gaping holes in the story, too many unanswered questions.

How could the Batman be a murderer?

Whether it was his inner child, or something a touch more resolute, he remained loyal to the caped crusader. He had felt a connection with Batman ever since he'd first seen him as a child, alone in a large, dark, unfair world. Batman wasn't a murderer, wasn't a criminal. He just knew it.

Blake had the same kind of respect for Commissioner Gordon. He'd always admired the man, even before he joined the force. Jim Gordon was close with the Batman. And, like the hero, he was steadfast, diligent. Jim Gordon didn't take shit from anyone. And Blake respected him for that.

_Well, we know who his daughter takes after_. Blake thought with a silent chuckle as he led Barbara to her father's hospital room. She raced to his side and clutched his hand.

John stood outside the room to give the two some privacy. After a few minutes of anxious awkwardness, he plopped down into one of the seats outside the door. He drummed his fingers against his knee. Hospitals always made him nervous. Especially this one.

A nurse sitting at the station across from him looked up from her paperwork and smiled at him. He smiled back.

* * *

"Daddy." Barbara grasped her father's hand in her own and cradled it close to her chest. Her father gave her a look that told her she was worrying for no reason.

"I'm alright, Barb. Its a minor wound; its a lot nicer than the time I got shot in the shoulder my first year on the Force."

Tears filled her eyes as she chuckled softly. That was her father for you, always making everything no big deal. It was one of the things she admired most about him. Even after her mother left, he'd bounced back. He hadn't drank himself away like she'd heard some men to do after a divorce, nor did he ever stop giving his job his all. He loved his family with every fiber of his being, but he was meant to be a cop, and nothing would stop him from protecting his people.

"Well, thank God I came home. What the hell happened?"

Her father sighed and leaned back in his bed. "There was a shooting downtown at a bar. Turns out it was a lot more than just a regular bar fight. Someone used the Mayor's phone. By the time we got down there, they'd lit up the place. I thought the culprit escaped into the sewers, so I went down. There was...there were these men down there, dozens of them. They killed off the SWAT boys that accompanied me, but I managed to escape through the water way. They shot at me, got me in the leg."

Barbara closed her eyes, trying to force the images of her father fleeing from some crazed criminal from her mind. She had enough nightmares about the _last_ time her family had been attacked. She would have recommended that it was time her father retired if she didn't already know it would be futile. Her father loved his job.

He squeezed her hand back reassuringly. "Babs, don't cry. I'm alright, I assure you."

"Yeah, but," her voice broke as she fought the tears in her eyes. "I can't imagine losing you."

"You're not going to. Not yet. Not until I get to walk you down the aisle and see my grandchildren grow up to be mischievous brats. And even then you'll have to fight me off."

Barbara laughed. Her father was her entire world.

"I am going to hold you to that, daddy." She said.

"That's my girl. Now, I need to speak to the officer who brought you here."

Barbara nodded and left his side long enough to stick her head out the door and ask Officer Blake to follow her.

The young policeman nodded respectfully at him and stood at the end of his bed.

"Officer Blake, I appreciate you bringing my daughter here, and for saving my life."

Blake shook his head. "No, sir, it was my honor."

Officer Gordon smiled, amused. "Please, son, no need for formalities. You show promise and heart, something a lot of cops these days are lacking. I want you to come work for me, as a Detective."

Blake blinked at him in surprise. His mouth dropped open. Barbara smiled.

"I-I don't know what to say, sir."

Gordon gave his daughter a look. He looked back at Blake. "Honestly, I'm being rather selfish doing this. I want someone to take care of my daughter, and there are only a few people that I trust."

Blake furrowed his brow. Barbara looked confused at her father.

"Daddy, I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself-" she began to argue, but her father raised a disciplined hand, and she quickly shut her mouth.

Jim moved to sit up, struggling slightly with weak arms. Both Barbara and John moved to help him, but the Commissioner swatted them away.

"Nothing seems right." He began slowly, looking down at his lap. "Those men down there...there is something all off about it. You should have seen their leader. And the children down there..."

Barbara and John exchanged alarmed expressions.

"Now, (name) doesn't believe a word of it. Everyone thinks I've finally lost it. But they weren't down there. They didn't see what they're building – not sure what it is, but its massive. They asked me if I saw a giant alligator down there." Jim rolled his eyes.

"Sir, who do you think they are?" John finally spoke, clutching his cap tightly in his hand. Jim shrugged, looking very tired.

"I don't know, rookie. No idea."

* * *

_Berlin, Germany._

_ "Das Projekt ist auf einem guten Weg. Alles läuft nach Plan."_

Hanna von Krieg took a long drag from her cigarette as she waited for the man sitting across from her to answer.

"_Sehr gut. _You have done well, _liebling_."

The blond smirked and leaned back in her chair. "So, what is the plan?"

The man folded his hands on the table. He was a tall, domineering man, with broad shoulders and a cold, calculated look, menacing to just about everybody he met, but Hanna was completely unfazed. Dirk Austerlitz may have been one of the most powerful and feared leaders among the vigilantes, but she had learned to fear no one.

"There is a man from South Africa who has gone to America. He resides underground, at the base location: Gotham City, Illinois. You are to go meet with him. He is expecting you." He passed her a photograph.

Helena raised a brow gleefully. "A new pet? Oh, _meine Lieb_, you shouldn't have."

Austerlitz fixed her with a serious look. "He is not one to be trifled with. This is a _very_ powerful man."

That only seemed to excite Hanna more, and she kicked her legs up onto the desk between them. She clapped her hands happily.

"_Sher gut_. I like my pets with a little fight in them. Its more fun that way."

The warlord shook his head tiredly. It was pointless to try and warn Hanna. She was stubborn as an ass, but he had to admit that she was as brave as a lion, and able to back that incessant bravery up with her quick wit and even quicker hand. But this man...even someone as powerful as himself, Dirk was unsure. He'd heard stories of the masked killer.

She would find out soon enough.

* * *

_Das Projekt ist auf einem guten Weg. Alles läuft nach Plan -_ **the project is on track. Everything is going according to plan.**_  
_

**My German is shaky. It's between my roommate, who speaks a fair bit of German, text books and translators. If it is wrong, please let me know!  
**

**I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Hit the pretty button and write a review!  
**


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